A SIGN claiming to name the killer of a schoolgirl stabbed to death in 1993 has been placed at her memorial site.

Last week, a handwritten cardboard sign mysteriously appeared alongside flowers placed by a plaque remembering Claire Tiltman, who was just 16 when she was killed near her Greenhithe home.

Standing by the side of London Road, near the alleyway where Claire was stabbed 40 times, the sign names her alleged killer, the type of car he drives and the company he works for.

It has been reported to Kent police’s Cold Case Investigation Team, who are investigating Claire’s unsolved murder, and the team’s leader says the sign will be inspected.

Detective Chief Inspector Dave Withers said: “We will investigate any credible information received in relation to this ongoing investigation.”

Claire lived in Woodward Terrace with her father Cliff and mother Linda, who died of cancer in March 2008.

Upon hearing about the mysterious sign and the man it alleges killed his daughter, 60-year-old Mr Tiltman said: “I have never heard that name before, but it’s worth telling the police.”

The retired plumber, who still lives in the home he shared with his wife and daughter, added: “I have no idea who would have put the sign there. It is weird.”

Mr Tiltman says he will not allow himself to hope the sign leads to convicting the killer of Claire, who was walking home from Dartford Grammar School when she was attacked.

He said: “There have been so many glimmers of hope over the years that have not worked out, so I don’t hold my hopes up because it is very disappointing when it comes to nothing.”

He added: “Of course I would love to see the person who killed Claire locked up. Really, my only reason for living is to see my daughter’s killer brought to justice.”

There are two main suspects in the murder of Claire, but neither have been charged with killing her.

Colin Ash-Smith:

- Ash-Smith’s parents were friends with Claire’s parents, and he was arrested soon after her death but released when his mother Diane said he had been with her at the time of the killing.

- In 1997 Ash-Smith’s father Aubrey was convicted of perverting the course of justice after admitting destroying a knife belonging to his son days before police questioned him in connection with Claire’s killing.

- Colin Ash-Smith, 41, is currently serving two life sentences for the attempted murder of two women, one a 22-year-old woman he stabbed yards from the alleyway where Claire was killed.

Robert Napper:

- Last year police interviewed 43-year-old Napper in connection with Claire’s death after he was convicted of killing 23-year-old Rachel Nickell in July 1992.

- There are similaries between the death of Claire and Rachel, who he stabbed 49 times on Wimbledon Common.

- Claire was killed less than 10 miles from Napper’s home in Plumstead, six months after he killed Rachel and 10 months before he murdered Samantha Bissett, 27, and her four-year-old daughter in Plumstead.